“There you are, I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t show,” Talia said as Arvin arrived and they began walking.

“No, I’m here.”

“Have you found your airship?”

“Not yet.”

“Ok. Did you find anything of interest?”

“I did like tier 14, with the pubs and evening entertainment. I thought that I could take you out tonight and show me a night out in Auksand.”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

“No. Possibly, it depends on how you look at it. The lighting down there is fascinating and I would love to see it in all of its glory.”

“If it’s just the lights that you’re after, you can go without me.”

“Where would the fun be in that? I want to make up for yesterday, so think of it as an apology. My life is not so safety-focused, as I have discovered wandering round this glorious city.”

“You don’t have to pretend Arvin.”

“What?”

“That you found the city glorious. You made it very clear yesterday about how you felt, and city life isn’t for everyone.”

“No. Would you mind if I took you out to make up for it? I have stories about my adventures if you would like to hear them. I saw a number of bookshelves in your house and I guess that you like to get lost in those from time to time.”

“I do, and I haven’t been out for an evening in a long time. Alright then, take me on an adventure,” Talia said and Arvin smiled. As they neared her house, they were unaware of ears that had heard them speaking. Those ears had moved quickly through the shadows and down an adjacent street until it found a policeman. Here, words were exchanged and the first use of the word, “infected”, was used. The policeman then decided that something needed to be done, so the figures went their own separate ways and evening drew in.

Tier 14 was full of activity, the lanterns had all been lit and Arvin found himself in a pub, concluding a tale of one of his adventures to Talia.

“And just as I cleared the mountainside, the avalanche swept down and passed away below me.”

“That sounds incredible! Could you really hear the roaring echoing around the mountains like thunder?”

“Yes. Often between mountains, you feel so small that you are in awe of everything that’s around you.”

“That’s incredible. I feel small in this city quite a lot, but that just makes me more in awe of it as well. Out there, beyond the gates, you’re saying that you are tiny?”

“You’re beyond tiny. Against the wind, you are nothing but a grain of salt.”

“A grain of salt?”

“Salt or sand drifting at the mercy of the elements around you.”

“Talking of salts and elements, can I buy you a drink?” Came a voice that wasn’t Talia’s. They both turned to see a new face at the bar. “Good evening, my name is Belmont, and it’s a pleasure to finally meet an aeronaut in the flesh.”

“How do you know that I’m an aeronaut?”

“From all the stories, that you’ve been telling this wonderful woman. I have often thought about what it would be like to fly.”

“Have you?”

“Indeed. I work in the engineering workshop for making your airship parts.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, though perhaps, on second thoughts, I won’t be buying you another drink.”

“Probably wise,” Talia added with a smile.

“I do have an appetite for ale. Come, I am not there yet!” Arvin protested.

“Indeed not, but it is your speech that concerns me most.”

“What do you mean?” Talia asked and he leaned into them.

“There are rumours that you are spreading MA. Whispers to policemen, and movement behind your back. Your stories and attitude have not gone down well in the city my friend.”

“There was a miner, earlier,” Arvin remarked. “He also knew that I am an aeronaut, from my manner alone I presume, and he warned me that I was carrying MA.”

“Yes, however in your case, people are presuming that you are dangerous and, infected.”

“Infected?”

“Yes. I believe that the way that you’re spreading it is good, but in this city, most disagree. You have not warned him soon enough my dear,” Belmont said as he directed his words to Talia.

“I didn’t think that it would happen this quickly, for people to turn.”

“They always turn my dear, and they do so quicker than you want to believe.”

“But Arvin is telling me about the world and it sounds amazing, far better than what we are told or what we could ever imagine ourselves.”

“It is, but it is an idea that is not widely shared in the city, as you well know. Outside brings the risk of MA, and while it sounds amazing, it is also dangerous. It is not a safe world out there.”

“It isn’t. How do you know so much?” Arvin asked, intrigued by this character who seemed so different from the rest.

“Because I have been out there. Not for long, and it was back in the olden days when we were less scared of being infected. It is better, scary and demanding, but less constraining. I would very much like to gather enough courage to go out there again.”

“I’m sure that you will my friend, and I would love to show Talia as well.”

“I’m sure that I could also find the courage to come with you Arvin. It would be nice to have a real adventure,” Talia said and that was the tipping point. Two policemen came out of the shadows.

“Talia Marston and Arvin, the aeronaut, you are under arrest,” The policeman said as they put them into handcuffs.

“Arrested, why?”

“We believe that you are spreading MA and that you have already infected Ms Marston. This puts others at risk and we have no choice but to take you two away.”

“At risk? Risk of what? What exactly are the symptoms of MA!” Arvin demanded in frustration, as the scene had attracted the entire attention of the pub. The policeman, however, did not answer his question.

“You should be ashamed of yourself Talia. Encouraging and taking a man out in public who you knew was at high risk of MA. You have let both yourself and your parents down.”

“I didn’t mean to. Please, I was just curious.”

“Curiosity is dangerous and it’s a sign that you could already be infected.”

“Curiosity isn’t against the law,” Belmont pressed the police.

“But it could be linked to MA and therefore it puts others at risk. The esteemed governor of Auksand, Victor Loughborough, has expressed the opinion that any signs that someone is infected with MA can lead to prosecution if they did not recognise symptoms and self-isolate themselves,” The policemen informed them.

“That’s the opinion of one man, not a law,” Arvin protested. “You can’t arrest Talia based on that.”

“We can, and we are.”

“Under whose jurisdiction?”

“Under my own. Come, enough of this,” The policeman said sternly before he led Talia and Arvin away. They were taken to the police station and put straight into a cell.

“Is Belmont right, is the outside world dangerous?” Talia asked as fear began to get the better of her. She was in a cell, and right now that was more of Arvin’s fault than hers.

“Of course it is, we are not in control of it. It’s harsh, but it’s no harsher than in here,” Arvin said as he looked around the cell. “What exactly does MA do? And why is everyone here so afraid of it?”

“MA stands for mountain air,” Talia told Arvin and, for the first time, he was shocked.

“Mountain air?” He checked and Tala nodded. From the way that people had been talking, it had seemed like it was a deadly disease that would kill anyone who caught it.

“People are quite wary of explorers coming into Auksand, and they’re usually limited to tier 1 and tier 12.”

“So why are people so afraid of mountain air?”

“It makes people try things. They act without caution and undertake dangerous acts. But it goes wrong, and society suffers the consequences.”

“You think mountain air makes people do dangerous things?”

“Yes, dangerous and reckless acts.”

“Reckless,” Arvin sighed as he began to understand. “I’m beginning to understand why Auksand hasn’t developed in generations. Have you ever left Auksand Talia? Just for a moment?”

“No. We have always been told that outside, on the surface, it is dangerous, with lightning storms and howling gales that kill crops year upon year. You said people study the weather, but they can’t control it. They say that eagles roam the mountains and pick off those who are lost, great sea creatures lurk in the deceptively beautiful oceans. Why would you roam around the wilderness, alone with nothing but the wind at your back?” As Talia went on to describe the great pain and horror of life outside of the city: the loneliness, the emptiness and the silence: it only made Arvin think more and more of home. The same loneliness, emptiness and silence was freedom, away from the chaos of other people. Out there, it was just you and the world. Uncomplicated and uninterrupted. Nothing could be more freeing. “It’s like a prison,” Talia continued. “What happens if you get stuck somewhere you can’t leave, or you get lost or find something that you don’t recognise? You’re so brave for surviving out there.”

“What do you think of the farmers?”

“They’re a bit weird, but they can be civil. I’ve only met a few farmers when they come to the bi-annual harvest celebrations.”

“Bi-annual?”

“Yes. Our traditional harvest time and theirs.”

“What about their villages, where everyone knows one another and they care for one another? Don’t you want to be a part of that?” Arvin continued.

“No. Imagine everyone knowing who you are and everything about you. It would be scary. In the city, there are just so many people, that if you don’t like someone you just carry on with your life. You don’t lose anything through not knowing them.”

“I suppose so, but if you take the time getting to know someone, doesn’t it hurt when you go your separate ways?”

“No. I love connecting with people and hearing about their experiences. I remember the depth of the connection and the feelings of a friendship rather than the actual person themselves.”

“That’s interesting. I take note of people, watch them and take in their ways of talking and moving. In the mountains and the wilds, you have to. To know if you can trust them or

not, and if you can trust them with your own life.”

“That’s scary. Why would you do that to yourself?”

“Why would you not? It puts you in control.”

“As long as I’m with other people, I’m in control. I need something else, I can’t be alone,” Talia said and Arvin finally understood. “What about you? Don’t you ever get lonely out there, being by yourself?”

“I’ve got my airship. She’s all I need. She’s the equipment that gives me freedom.”

“She?”

“When you’re on your own on a mountain, it’s just you and your airship. She feels like a companion and you’re on the journey together. If I look after her, she looks after me. She does need repairing though, and I hope that I can fix her up enough here to get her home to Ansora.”

“Ansora? It’s real? I’ve only heard about it in stories,” Talia said as the light grew once more in her eyes.

“Yes, it’s my home.”

“Is it true that it’s carved into the inside of a mountain?”

“It is.”

“And does it really have a thermal lake?”

“It does.”

“Do the clouds drift through it so close that you can touch them? Have you been to the thermal lake? How does it heat up your houses? Is it true that you don’t grow crops?” Talia asked excitedly and Arvin laughed gently to himself.

“Yes. I wash in the thermal lake every day when I’m home, and the clouds really do drift right beside the platform on the outside of the mountain, but we don’t grow crops. We trade with farmers and hunt ourselves. That provides us with enough food. The houses are carved into the mountains as you said, and the only external structure is the platform, which has a deck for us to land our airships and the air traffic control tower to monitor all the airships that enter and leave. We have weathermen and women, explorers and rescue teams as well as craftsmen, engineers and massage therapists. Oh, I love the massage therapists. I’m just hoping that the engineers can help me repair my airship when I get home.”

“We have massage therapists too.”

“Wonderful, why didn’t you tell me about them earlier?” Arvin asked and Talia laughed.

“Why have you come here before?”

“I’m not a huge fan of cities. Not many people in Ansora are. There’s too many people here and I find that it feels claustrophobic.”

“But that’s the freedom of it.”

“Our definition of freedom is very different.”

“Different opinions aren’t bad though.”

“No,” Arvin said with a smile. “I suppose they’re not.”

“It’s cold in here.”

“It is a bit, but I’m still warm from all the beer. Do you want to see if I can warm you up too?” Arvin asked and Talia nodded. She moved beside him and he took her gently into his arms.